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When I look at the "Today" Supercharger map at Supercharger | Tesla Motors I do not see an "Opening soon" icon on the I5 in the region where Buttonwillow is. In fact I do not see any indication of a new Supercharger between the existing locations at Tejon and Harris Ranch.

It would be useful location, certainly. But I don't see it on that map, or on the 2015 map, or on the 2016 map.

It's on the "opening soon" map of Teslamotors. Probably close to Starbucks at McKittrick exit.

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The "Coming Soon" pin in the Central Valley is for the location known to be in permitting in Fresno. The 2016 pin north of Tejon Ranch appears to be in Bakersfield. Regardless of the current Tesla map, the high supercharger demand along I-5 will compel Tesla to put in other locations like Buttonwillow, Lost Hills, Kettleman City, Santa Nella, and Westley.

When Bakersfield is up and running, and if Harris Ranch and Ft. Tejon expand to 16 stalls(!) I would doubt that there would be a need for Buttonwillow. It is only 120 miles or so between those two locations. My guess is that >90% of the drivers on Interstate 5 through the Valley head between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, with the balance heading on east to Barstow.

When Bakersfield and Fresno are complete, Sacramento and East Bay drivers to and from Los Angeles will have a choice of routes, so some stress will be removed from Interstate 5. Also, drivers going to the Palm Springs area or to Phoenix can choose to bypass the Los Angeles area and head through Bakersfield and Mojave before cutting over to Interstate 15 (or taking the desert route on SR247.) Sure, some of these routes are slightly longer, but some like a variety when traveling to and from an area.

I do think that adding a Supercharger north of the I5/SR152 junction (like Santa Nella) makes a lot more sense than Buttonwillow.

Well, the CHAdeMO buildout is still in progress in the Central Valley. If you are desperate for a charge between the existing Supercharger stations, there are CHAdeMO stations planned for Santa Nella, Lost Hills, Tulare, and Madera in addition to the ones that overlay with Superchargers in Coalinga (Harris Ranch) and Wheeler Ridge (Tejon Ranch). There are already open stations in Atwater and Salida on CA-99. Basically, there will be industry standard (slow-ish) fast chargers at least every 50 miles between Sacramento and LA on I-5 and CA-99 within a year or so.

I drove it about 6 years ago. It's very twisty in parts - much more than 46, was clearly less-traveled, and is slower to get though.

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Prophet is correct. Not a bad route to take in early spring before it gets hot. The Carrizo Plain it kinda neat. But SR58 terminates at US101 in Santa Margarita, just north of Cuesta Grade and about 8 miles south of Atascadero.

Prophet is correct. Not a bad route to take in early spring before it gets hot. The Carrizo Plain it kinda neat. But SR58 terminates at US101 in Santa Margarita, just north of Cuesta Grade and about 8 miles south of Atascadero.

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I drove it a year or two ago, in July or August. Quite windy (that's 'windy' as in 'curvy') through the pass IIRR, but you do pass within long distance view of a huge (250 MW) solar array in California Valley on the way. I took the La Panza Rd. cutoff to Creston, and then Creston Rd. into Paso Robles (I was heading home to the Bay Area), so can't speak to the last section into Santa Margarita. You can certainly take 41 direct into Atascadero from Creston if you want.

Sounds like a 'road trip' adventure for a weekend combined with wine tasting in the Paso Robles area. Let's see.... over to Harris Ranch for charge and lunch, then on to Buttonwillow (just to get a pic next to a 'Welcome to Buttonwillow' sign). Then across 58 (hopefully catch sunset near the end) - down to San Luis Obispo to eat at and maybe choose one of the Madonna Inn's unique rooms for the night (Ballroom dancing on most weekends). Or find a hidden B&B at some vineyard. Next day top it off at Atascadero, and cruise across 46 west then up the coastal Rte 1 to home. Could also make it a 3 day with a full day of wine tasting.

Funny enough, we stopped at Buttonwillow a few weeks ago (day after Model X Launch) on our way South to Tejon Ranch (for the Starbucks and the TA across the street) and spotted the following getting some Dino Juice...

This is a curious location unless I'm missing something. its not close enough to Harris ranch to off load some of the usage there (75 miles to the north). And
Approx 45 miles north of Tejon. It might offset some usage from that location. but doubtfull as your going to burn off 45 miles and then hit the pass which is going necessitate hitting a closer charger in the LA Basin. I Doubt any would would stop twice. Here and Tejon. I can only see this be an advantage if you get an alert Tejon is down or full.

This is a curious location unless I'm missing something. its not close enough to Harris ranch to off load some of the usage there (75 miles to the north). And
Approx 45 miles north of Tejon. It might offset some usage from that location. but doubtfull as your going to burn off 45 miles and then hit the pass which is going necessitate hitting a closer charger in the LA Basin. I Doubt any would would stop twice. Here and Tejon. I can only see this be an advantage if you get an alert Tejon is down or full.

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Having driven this route four times in the past month. I know that I've used approx 40 miles of range making the climb up the grapevine from Tejon, but once I've crested that hill, I used up about 10 miles of range driving downhill to Castaic.

If a traveler's destination is in the North side of LA County or even South of the three West LA SCs then this location is a good stop for folks in order to skip Tejon Ranch. It's similar to the skip Primm to Barstow or skip Rancho to home from Barstow that some of us use in SoCal-Vegas trips.

I think Buttonwillow will be very useful for many people. And keep in mind that the Burbank Supercharger is about to come online, which is about 110 miles distant. That interval makes it easy to do in a 60 or with headwinds in cold temps.
Also, Buttonwillow to Gilroy is about 185 miles, meaning you can skip Harris Ranch completely. I would love that, as I don't want to eat at Harris and the cow stink there can be atrocious. Once Buttonwillow is live I may never stop at Harris again.

It's Buttonwillow to Mojave or Inyokern that's the really big improvement, as most people coming south down I-5 and heading east cut over to Bakersfield from Buttonwillow. Harris Ranch to Mojave is tight in a 60 even in ideal conditions, and add any HVAC use, headwinds or degradation and you'll be slowing way down. Buttonwillow eliminates any worries, which is why some people were recommending it. Of course, Bakersfield would also work and would also serve 99 traffic, as Fresno-Mojave is at or beyond the limit for a 60 even in ideal conditions.

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